“Not for fame or reward, not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty.” --Inscription at Arlington Cemetary

"Each of these heroes stands in the unbroken line of patriots who have dared to die that freedom might live and grow and increase in its blessings." -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Army Staff Sgt. Daniel R. Scheile

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Daniel R. Scheile, 37, of Antioch, California.

Sgt Scheile died of injuries sustained in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 23, 2005 when he was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire and an improvised explosive device detonated near his M113 armored personnel carrier. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Oakdale, California.

Sgt. Daniel Scheile, 37, died Saturday from injuries he received late Friday while patrolling in southeastern Baghdad, according to military reports. Scheile was with the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry.

He is survived by his wife, Jennifer, and two daughters, Kelli, 9 and Marissa, 4.

Scheile, an active-duty guardsmen for 17 years, worked as a concrete mason in Antioch before shipping off to Iraq in August 2004.

"He was a really good family man. He would do anything for anybody," said Scheile's father, Ronald Scheile, who worked as a mason with his son. Scheile's mother lives in Stockton.

He said his son also fought in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War.

"I didn't agree on this (the Iraq war), but I was proud of him for what he'd done," Ronald Scheile said.

During his stint in Iraq, Scheile reported a number close calls with roadside bombs before Friday's incident, including one about a month ago that left shrapnel in his face. Yet, he never talked about being afraid, he was just doing his job, his duty, Ronald Scheile said.

"He had a Purple Heart," he said. "I couldn't understand why they didn't send him home."

He said Scheile was scheduled to come home in October for both his daughters' birthdays, but during their last conversation a month ago, Scheile told him the Army had pushed back his visit to November.

His sister-in-law, Annie Carroll, said the Antioch native had two passions -- his wife, Jennifer, and the military.

"She talked to him every day through email when he could," Carroll said.

Carroll said Jennifer, her sister, would regularly send Scheile copious bags of candy, which he would hand out to Iraqi children.

"He believed strongly in what he was fighting for," Carroll said. "He was there for peace and believed in rebuilding Iraq."

Scheile had another passion -- fishing, which he shared with his father-in-law, John Beason.

In April, Beason, a member of the North Arkansas Fly Fishers in Mountain Home, Ark., raised money to donate fishing equipment to his son-in-law's unit. Scheile, an angling enthusiast, planned to organize a fishing derby when the gear arrived.

But ever mindful of the dangers of a job that shrouded even the most innocuous pastime, Scheile reminded his father-in-law in an email, "that fishing is a bit less relaxing in the middle of a war."